rle10666666
June 5, 2024
Booked Martinhal Sagres to utilise the CRB and Ofsted registered childcare on some mornings to engage and interest our children and get some time together as a couple while they made friends to meet up with outside the club. We felt this was really very underwhelming - planned activities weren’t done so the timetable published in advance was frequently abandoned. We used the crèche (23m old, 27E a session of 3 hours) and this was great but very little seemed to be done with him as advertised (in 6 sessions, he painted once, for example, when there were often as many staff as children). We found the same with explorers (7 yo, 25E a 3 hour session), the timetable I photographed at the start of her week was rarely followed and replaced with underwhelming activities instead (engineering ignored, no whirligig or marble run made - instead of these our daughter did colouring and painted a paper plate). Compared to what was advertised and amount paid, this was really disappointing. These were the things she’d been most excited to experience. We were also shocked about the behaviour of some children (generally and towards staff) witnessed at restaurants in the children’s corner and also at the club (e.g. on collection with unkind comments made openly about how our daughter had done with the climbing (something she has a fear of), for example, or repeatedly hitting the adult in the pool with them at club 98 & ignoring constant requests to stop this behaviour. I wouldn’t have allowed my daughter to go to the pool with them after this (if it’d been scheduled on a day she was there) as I didn’t feel it was safe. I think they needed clear policies on how staff could be expected to be treated and a process for when they aren’t (e.g. you’re asked to collect your child after repeatedly asking them to behave). Perhaps the policy is in place but it should be used when appropriate as they’re there to engage and entertain rather than managing behaviour and having to focus all attention on a few. Apart from this, everything else was perfect (literally perfect) so this is very disappointing as we paid a premium to go there and have the option of these clubs available. It’s not something we’ll do again at the brand as a result but the concept is something we’ll seek out. If you do go, I’d recommend a car and heading to Aldi/Lidl - really great fresh produce. We paid the meal supplement (40E per adult and our children were free) for a three course meal in any restaurant.